“It’s weird not going to Tampa until September, Toronto we haven’t been there yet, so it’s a lot different.” “I was thinking about it the other day about New York, we hadn’t been in New York in a while, so it’s weird,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who also noted it has been a similar story with their other AL East rivals. Baseball’s biggest rivals didn’t cross paths until more than two months into the season, and now after playing six games in 10 days - including consecutive weekends on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball - they won’t meet again until the Red Sox head back down to the Bronx for the second and final time in mid-August. Nowhere has that change been more pronounced than with the Red Sox and Yankees. The change has largely been a net positive, with less disparity between clubs’ strength of schedule and more opportunities for fans to see different teams come to town, but it has also meant traditional rivalry games are less common occurrences, with divisional opponents now playing each other 13 times per season instead of 19. This season MLB switched to a more balanced schedule that features fewer games between division rivals and ensures everyone plays every other club at least once. Oh, and if you want to see the Yankees, it’ll also be your last chance until September. If there’s a time of year to head down to the ballpark, this is it. The days are getting longer, the weather is (theoretically) getting better, school is winding down and Father’s Day is coming this Sunday. It’s the first time the Yankees have come to Fenway Park this season and lands at the perfect time on the calendar. Yankees series is likely one fans have had circled on the calendar for a while.
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